While many still worry about patient privacy and the security of medical and health information, a former diva’s medical records prove technological progress is not at the center of medical privacy invasion. Marilyn Monroe’s x-rays and medical records are up for auction at Julien’s Auctions, and are expected to sell for $20,000 to $30,000, Vanity Fair reports. The six x-rays were taken two months before her death, the day before she was fired from the set of Something’s Gotta Give, Vanity Fair reports. The medical history includes information about treatment for an ectopic pregnancy.
Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions, told VF buyers from as far as Ireland and Australia were interested in the materials.
Don’t worry. Even if you become marginally famous and people clamor for every scrap or memento you once touched, they won’t be able to buy your medical records. From Vanity Fair:
Balancing the Role of Physicians and AI [Video]
At the ViVE conference in LA, Smarter Technologies Chief Medical Officer Ruben Amarasingham MD talked with Katie Adams about the company's larger goals for AI: to improve the accuracy of data and make healthcare less burdensome for physicians and clinicians.
While it may seem strange to auction off personal medical records, Nolan tells us that his auction house has previously handled similar lots, including X-rays of President Kennedy, Elvis Presley, and Orson Welles. “Keep in mind, this is pop-culture history,” Nolan says of the files. “[Marilyn’s] date back to the 1950s. Today there are laws preventing the release of such information, but this is prior to that law.”